World Wrestling Federation – Royal Rumble 2000 – 23rd January 2000
This will be a bit of an elongated introduction so please indulge me if you will. I’ve been writing pro-wrestling show reviews since 2002, contributing material to various websites and newsletters along the way. It’s always been hugely rewarding to me, and something I’m extremely passionate about. But it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I started ‘McXal’s Reviews’ – my own website specifically to catalogue the stuff I’d written over the years. I didn’t think much of it if I’m honest. I threw it together on a free hosting service using a cheap template – a few clicks and it was all done. It was going to be pretty much an online archive of my work, there for anyone who wanted to see but not really putting in anymore thought than that. Since the only wrestling promotion I watch on a greatly regular basis is Ring Of Honor, which whilst (supposedly) growing is still at it’s core a small independent promotion, I really didn’t expect many people to check it out. But, honestly, the success of my little site over the last year or so has really blown me away – and it’s something that I’m truly humbled and thankful for. The amount of hits the site gets is crazy, I’ve always got emails to answer and truthfully it has been a massively rewarding experience. But, such is life, you can’t rest on your laurels and sit within your comfort zone. Having recently got relatively up to date with the ROH product, I’ve started looking around at what I could do to keep myself interested, diversify what I have on my site and generally keep things fresh. I thought about other indies, I thought about going deeper into Japanese promotions. But they just felt a little too ‘close’ in subject matter to ROH, so really wouldn’t diversify my site all that much. I even thought about getting into movie/television reviews, but ultimately that would be a lot of work, require a major revamp of my site and ultimately would be a lot of work – and it’s not like the world needs anymore movie critics. In the end the choice seemed an obvious one – why not freshen things up and get a little more mainstream by reviewing some WWE ppv’s? People always ask me what I think of the current product, people always ask me why I don’t review more WWE stuff – so it’s time to oblige them. For now I’ve picked up every WWE ppv from 2000-2003, so it’s the start of a fairly major project to get them going. If it starts taking off and the feedback is good, maybe I’ll continue. Here’s hoping it’s an enjoyable journey!
For me as a wrestling fan, there’s no better place to start than the first WWF ppv of the 21st century. I know people will argue I should go further back, but this event, to me at least, is a hugely significant one. I was a massive wrestling fan in my childhood. I loved Ultimate Warrior, I loved Bret Hart. I hated (what in hindsight were incredibly goofy) villains like Yokozuna, Papa Shango, Nailz and so on. But as I grew older wrestling was an interest that fell by the wayside. That was until the year 2000, when it was announced that Channel 4 (a terrestrial TV station here in the UK – free to air, to all, rather than the premium satellite/cable stations) had picked up the rights to show a few WWF ppvs (plus Sunday Night Heat I think). With it on free TV, myself and a few friends decided to check the show out. I loved the show and it in turn reignited a passion for professional wrestling within me that hasn’t gone away since. It opened my eyes to ECW, which in turn shifted to ROH which has led me to where I am today. This was my ‘ground zero’ as an adult wrestling fan, so there’s really nowhere else I could start. Everyone should remember this show. It’s the one that basically made Triple H as a main event talent for years to come. Mick Foley, in his Cactus Jack persona, was ready for (what at the time was) his last run and wanted to go out putting The Game over. Their feud was legendary and their Street Fight on this show is still held up as one of the great WWF Championship matches of all time. The rest of the card is pretty patchy, but certainly not all bad with the Dudleyz and the Hardyz meeting in the historic first ever Tables Match in the WWF, plus Tazz debuting against Kurt Angle to a stunning response – and the Rumble Match itself is always worth a watch. We’re in New York at Madison Square Garden. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler will call it.
The pre-show hype video spotlighting the WWF Title Match, featuring multiple clips of Cactus Jack’s hardcore exploits in Japan and Europe, is utterly stunning. ‘Some say you shoot from the hip…I say you just shoot your mouth off’ – HHH.
Kurt Angle vs Tazz
At the time this was billed as Angle facing a mystery opponent. Even then pretty much everyone knew it was going to be the newly-signed former ECW Champion Tazz who he was up against. Orange and black videos and been playing on RAW, he’d left ECW television and it was just a matter of time until he arrived. Angle wasn’t a year into his career by this point, and still proudly boasted an undefeated streak which highlighted outstanding in-ring skill, at odds with his lovably dorky persona outside it.
The crowd are loudly chanting ‘We want Taz’ (he hasn’t arrived yet, so I don’t have to put the extra ‘z’ in his name!) as Kurt witters away. The pop for the Human Wrecking Machine’s entrance is amazing, especially considering how insignificant his WWF career inside the ring wound up being. Loud ‘EC-Dub’ chants ring out too as Tazz takes it straight outside. Kurt actually lands the first suplex, dropping Tazz on the exposed concrete of the aisle. He drags him back in for a belly to belly suplex too, drawing ridiculous heat for stealing Tazz’s thunder! The former ECW Champion retaliates with a belly to belly Tazplex from the second rope…and thinks he’s won it right there until he spots Angle’s foot on the ropes. Kurt hits a German but sees the Olympic Slam countered to a GERMAN SUPLEX ON HIS FACE! T-BONE TAZPLEX! TAZMISSION! Kurt is choked out and the match is stopped at 03:15
Rating - ** - Not much of a match, but this was certainly a memorable debut for Tazz. The reaction he got from the NYC fans was honestly as much of a spectacle as the actual wrestling. The way they jeered Angle for daring to use suplexes on him was just awesome to watch. In truth I felt maybe Kurt got a little too much offence in, and certainly didn’t help Tazz’s credibility by using so many suplexes on him. But, in hindsight, Kurt went on to become a significantly better wrestler and a much bigger draw for WWE than Tazz ever did and curtailing his undefeated streak at the expense of the Human Suplex Machine doesn’t seem as bright an idea in 2013 as it probably did back in the year 2000. If nothing else, this match put the Tazmission over like a million bucks.
Referees, officials and paramedics rush to the ring and stretcher Kurt out hooked up to an oxygen tank to further promote the damaging effects of Tazz’s finisher.
Michael Cole is backstage with the Hardy Boyz and Terri Runnels. Jeff refuses to let Terri come to the ring with them for their Tables Match because it’s going to be so violent. Matt cuts a whole promo with his back to the camera saying he and his brother will win the match or die trying. How did that guy go on to become such an entertaining personality later in his career?
Dudley Boyz vs Hardy Boyz – Tables Match
More ECW influence next, as the Dudleyz (who hadn’t been on Vince’s payroll too long themselves by this point) bring their signature table-loving ways from ECW to WWF pay-per-view for the first time. This is the first ever Tables Match, with a winner declared when both members of the opposing team have gone through a table. It was booked after Bubba Ray put the Hardyz through tables on Raw, only for the Hardyz to hit back on Smackdown with Matt putting both of them through tables with a flying leg drop off the stage.
Ray drops Jeff with a Bubba Bomb in the opening seconds…and he goes straight for a table. He wants an early back drop through it, only for Matt to push the table aside with his brother in mid-air. That was pretty awesome – and Jeff cranks it up again with a somersault plancha to the floor. He absolutely WAFFLES Bubba with a chair, then props him up against a table! HE RUNS THE GUARDRAIL – THEN GETS A TABLE THROWN IN HIS FACE! The Hardyz try superplexing Bubba through a table but look around in confusion as D-Von casually strolls into the ring and steals the table as they hit the move. Matt brings a ladder in and starts battering Bubba with it. He positions Ray on a table on the floor, then climbs up the ladder alongside him. LEG DROP/FROG SPLASH COMBO PUTTING BUBBA THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! Matt comes up from that terrific double team doing the ‘YES’ gimmick over a decade before Bryan Danielson! And they’re not done – laying D-Von on a table between the rail and the apron. HARDY MISSES A LEG DROP AND GOES THROUGH THE TABLE! JEFF MISSES A TOPE CON HILO…AND GOES THROUGH A TABLE! This is chaos! It’s not over though, as it has to be an offensive move to win it rather than your opponents being high-flying, pill-popping lunatics like the Hardyz who put themselves through them. Bubba then horrifically blasts Matt with an unprotected chair shot to the back of the head for good measure. The Dudleyz set a table up on a platform they create with the ring steps, then scoop what’s left of Matt Hardy up for an AWESOME BOMB through that elevated table! Sick of fighting in the ring now, all four men spill into the crowd and brawl to a gangway in the back of the building. The Dudleyz erect a four-table stack in a doorway underneath a balcony, then position a KO’d Matt on top of it. Bubba smashes Jeff with another chair then hauls him up onto the balcony, perilously positioned over his brother and the table tower. But before he can do any damage Jeff finds another strategically positioned chair and SMASHES him with it. Bubba is teetering on the edge…AND FALLS OFF THE BALCONY THROUGH THE TABLES! Matt is moving again, and sets D-Von up on another table. Jeff is above him – you know what’s coming! SWANTON OFF THE BALCONY THROUGH THE F*CKING TABLE! Hardyz win in a suicidal 10:12
Rating - **** - Such an awesome match, which was wildly different from the stuff WWF had been doing before, but the kind of thing ECW fans had been seeing for years. I also think this one is really underrated and under-appreciated in terms of it’s significance in developing the ‘TLC-era’, and establishing the careers of the Dudleyz, the Hardyz, Edge & Christian and the renaissance of the tag division that came with that. The Tag Ladder Match between the Hardyz and E&C at No Mercy ’99, and the Triangle Ladder Match with Bubba and D-Von thrown in at Wrestlemania 2000 get all the credit. But this was the one that really set the framework for a WWF spot-fest using all three elements of the ‘TLC Match’. Yes some of the spots took a little long to set up. And of course it was ridiculous that these guys were destroying each other, then no selling horrendous bumps to pop up for another high spot seconds later. But that’s the nature of the beast. For what was a thrown together ppv undercard match they damn near stole the show. It was the defining moment in the early-WWF career of the Dudley Boyz and really established them as a top level team – and as a prelude to the ladder match at Mania, and TLC 1 which followed at Summerslam it’s exceptional viewing. It contains an intensity and a chaotic brawl element which isn’t seen in any of the big ladder matches involving the Dudleyz/Hardyz/E&C triumvirate – and that actually means it holds up a lot better than the Terri Invitational Tournament final in 1999 for instance.
In the locker room paramedics are still attending to a disorientated Kurt Angle. He can barely stand, but ascertains that he was choked out and should still be undefeated as it was an ‘illegal hold’.
Sgt. Slaughter, Tony Garea, Fabulous Moolah, Johnny Valiant and Freddie Blassie are brought out to be the judging panel for the ‘Miss Rumble Swimsuit Contest’. Of course Jerry Lawler is MC for this. We all know how this ends (Mae Young with her tits out…I wish I was kidding), and it’s a pretty damning indictment of where WWF were with their women’s division at this point. Half decent wrestlers like Ivory and Jacqueline (and even Luna Vachon) reduced to degrading stunts like this whilst talentless bimbos like Stacy Carter, Terri Runnels and ‘BB’ strut around like tramps. That said, it’s a shame The Kat and The King got divorced as she was stupidly attractive. Ultimately all we learnt from this was that prosthetic old lady tits on a wrestling pay-per-view is f*cking ridiculous.
Jonathan Coachman is at WWF New York (how much of an money-draining, entirely needless extravagance was that place?) getting mauled by drunk guys.
Elsewhere co-Intercontinental Champions Chris Jericho and Chyna bicker about who gets to wear the belt to the ring. In less than ten seconds of TV time Y2J makes me burst out laughing on three separate occasions with this little skit.
Chris Jericho vs Chyna vs Hardcore Holly – WWF Intercontinental Title Match
I completely forgot about the co-IC Champions stuff with Jericho and Chyna. On TV it felt very flat, which is weird because both have gone on record as saying that behind the scenes they absolutely hated each other at the time. Chyna made history by becoming the first woman to become Intercontinental Champion when she defeated Jeff Jarrett in their notorious ‘Good Housekeeping Match’ at No Mercy 1999. She and Jericho later became co-champions by pinning each other simultaneously – and now meet in a one-fall triple threat match to secure an undisputed champion.
Jericho is getting a lot of love from the crowd, but Holly cracks me up by pie-facing Chyna to the ground in a ‘let the men fight’ manner. He dumps her out of the ring too, spinning round to blast Y2J with a dropkick. He then tries an idiotic hurricanrana and is deservedly punished by being captured in the Walls Of Jericho. Chyna lunges into the ring to break the hold though. Bob tries to fight the 9th Wonder Of The World on the outside…but is wiped out by a SPRINGBOARD SUICIDE DIVE by Jericho! No time for him to celebrate though, Chyna hauls him back into the ring to nail him with the handspring elbow. Hardcore has seen enough of Chyna’s antics…and tries to smash her with a chair. That’s almost as braindead as that time he tried a hurricanrana…like 2 minutes ago. Again he deservedly punished for being a moron as Chyna dropkicks the chair into his face. Things take a turn for the atrocious as Jericho and Chyna join forces to hit the UGLIEST double splash you could ever possibly imagine. You can almost hear the crowd sniggering at how terrible that spot was. Chyna nutshots Jericho, then lays out Hardcore with a Pedigree for 2. DOOMSDAY CROSSBODY by Y2J as Bob tries to lay her out with an electric chair drop. Chyna gets her revenge by crotching them both over the top rope. She nails a superplex…which Bob promptly no sells to roll her up for 2. Her revenge for that disrespect is to blast him with a steel chair behind the ref’s back. She tries to put him in the Walls Of Jericho…only for Chris to hit her with the Lionsault. It’s Jericho who leaves as champion at 07:29
Rating - ** - I feel sorry for Jericho being stuck with these two wastes of space. God knows he tried hard and through himself all over ringside trying to salvage something decent from this…but Chyna and Holly were left exposed as deeply limited performers and just couldn’t keep up. It didn’t help that some of what they did looked appallingly sloppy too. This is one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year. Honestly that staggeringly awful double belly flop spot wouldn’t have looked out of place in a backyard match between a couple of fat teenagers. At least the right guy won.
The Rock is backstage, and tells Michael Cole that his only competition in the Royal Rumble tonight will be Crash Holly and Headbanger Mosh. Definitely not the Big Show…
New Age Outlaws vs Acolytes – WWF Tag Title Match
Faarooq and Bradshaw have been in hot pursuit of the champions for some time. They’ve brawled at arenas, in locker rooms and in bars. Road Dogg has even admitted to being terrified of his opponents this evening. Will it be the brute force of the Acolytes or the resourcefulness of the champions that leads to victory and Tag Team Championship gold here?
The Acolytes actually sprint to the ring and start assaulting the champions before the bell even rings. Bradshaw picks up Gunn, boots Dogg aside then drops Mr Ass with a huge fallaway slam. Faarooq goes for the Dominator early but Billy manages to recover in time to save his partner from an early demise there. Clothesline From Hell for him! RD tries to help his buddy only to clumsily run right into a spinebuster. X-Pac does a run in to help with the referee down…and he gets a spinebuster too. Somewhere in the melee Gunn hits the Fame Asser on Bradshaw to take a win at 02:35
Rating - * - This was so short it really didn’t mean anything, but I’ve given it a star because I really enjoyed the brutal approach to this match the Acolytes adopted. They certainly weren’t given much time to look like credible challengers, but in less than 2 minutes they actually delivered such a wicked beating to the champions that (with the added Waltman run in) their credibility doesn’t suffer too greatly from such a speedy loss on ppv.
Triple H vs Cactus Jack – WWF Title Street Fight
How awesome was this feud? HHH had ‘married the boss’ daughter’, and with Vince McMahon off TV it was Stephanie and Hunter who were running the show. HHH beat Big Show for the title on RAW, beginning a reign of such terror that Foley (then in his Mankind persona) felt the need to speak out against it. His reward was a hellacious beating at the hands of HHH and D-X and a pink slip to send him packing. In his absence they brought in a ‘phony Mankind’ for some humiliating skits, degrading him to such an extent that The Rock and the WWF locker room stepped in and demanded he be reinstated. They obliged…but in a terrific twist, rather than have Mankind have a huge babyface return, they promptly had HHH decimate him on TV again. This led to Mick’s admission that Mankind couldn’t beat Hunter – and that legendary moment where he pulled the mask off, revealed the Cactus Jack shirt and brought the champion to his knees in terror. Over a decade later this remains one of the greatest WWF feuds of the modern era and people were DESPERATE to see this match at the time.
The scene is immediately set for some real violence as HHH asks his wife to stay backstage for this. He looks visibly nervous as he steps into the ring, where he is met with a barrage of right hands from the former King Of The Death Match. He tries to leave…only to eat a swinging neckbreaker on the concrete. He desperately nails Cactus with the ring bell but it only stops the challenger for a few moments. Helmsley heads back into the ring brandishing a chair and begs Jack to join him, and in shades of Mankind/Rock at the 1999 Royal Rumble Cactus walks in to join him and EATS a chair to the head. Still Jack doesn’t stay down – and is up seconds later to leg drop a chair into the champion’s head for 2. Foley back drops HHH over the guardrail then chases him into the crowd to brawl through a sea of people. That ends in the aisle, and ends with Foley suplexing Hunter onto a stack of wooden pallets – puncturing his calf on a loose shard of wood in the process. To his credit he refuses to stay down and after having his skull bashed to pieces against the sheet metal door that forms the entrance-way he somehow finds a way to scoop Foley up for a BACK SUPLEX THROUGH A TRASH CAN!
Yet still, by the time they make it back to the ring it’s Cactus in charge again and delivering a running knee strike against the ring steps. He fishes out a barbed wire 2x4, with Earl Hebner imploring him not to use it. That distracts him for long enough to allow HHH to steal it…BARBED WIRE 2x4 TO THE BACK! AND THE STOMACH! It shreds his shirt with each shot…but Foley just won’t stay down! He nut shots Hunter seconds later then hits the Double Arm DDT for 2 whilst officials try to hide the barbed wire 2x4 under the Spanish Announce Table. Cactus isn’t amused with that tactic and punches out one of the announcers to get it back (albeit with a switch to a rubber tipped version of the same bat). BARBED WIRE 2x4 TO THE FACE! RUNNING BARBED WIRE ELBOW DROP! HHH is instantly pouring blood! He looks absolutely gruesome and screams in pain as Jack grates his forehead again with the wire. He can’t walk well and can only stagger to the announce tables again. Jack tries a piledriver but is BACK DROPPED THROUGH THE TABLE! Incredible guts from Hunter to keep fighting here! We’re at 15 minutes…and despite going through a damn table Cactus Jack still won’t stay down – and bulldogs HHH into the barbed wire again! Cactus Clothesline takes us to the floor, only for Helmsley to score with a HIPTOSS INTO THE RINGSTEPS! Foley bumped that like a maniac! Clearly failing in a fight, Hunter decides to use some old fashioned wrestling psychology to stop his opponent getting up.
He starts assaulting the knee – since clearly inflicting brain damage is getting nowhere. BARBED WIRE 2x4 TO THE LEG! Foley is slowed and in a final effort to keep his sadistic opponent negated he busts out a full homage to Royal Rumble ’99 by cuffing Jack’s hands behind him. But even without the use of his hands HE WON’T QUIT! DROP TOEHOLD INTO THE RING STEPS! DIVING HEADBUTT TO THE BALLS! But finally Hunter reaches a chair…and promptly breaks it on Mick’s unprotected spine. It’s Jack’s turn to flee, a nice return to what we saw earlier from Triple H. He absorbs more shots as he staggers up the aisle…where The Rock is waiting to BLAST Hunter with a chair! And a cop is on hand to unlock Jack’s handcuffs! A freed Cactus unloads like a wildman on the champion. PULLING PILEDRIVER ON THE SPANISH ANNOUNCE TABLE! And with him down Cactus digs out one last hardcore stunt from his bag of tricks…by pouring tacks all over the ring! Stephanie McMahon returns and begs Cactus to stop but to no avail. HHH BACK DROPS CACTUS INTO THE TACKS! HE GETS UP! PEDIGREE! JACK KICKS OUT! HHH sinks to his knees in despair…then regains his senses as Jack charges at him again. PEDIGREE IN THE TACKS! IT’S OVER! HHH retains in a sensational 26:51
Rating - ***** - An all-time classic WWF Championship match which still holds up today. It’s hard to say this match or this feud ‘made’ HHH as a main event talent. He was so talented, and the whole ‘McMahon-Helmsley Era’ gimmick was so entertaining that you can’t say he wouldn’t have gone on to greatness anyway. But this absolutely was the match that legitimised him as a top line talent and cemented his place at the top of the WWF/E for more than a decade to follow. It is an outstanding, and absorbing contest – memorable as much for the gripping story it told as for the shocking violence it contained. Cactus started hot with the ‘Street Fight’ rules clearly favouring him. HHH looked terrified from the outset, and just couldn’t deal with the unrelenting and seemingly unstoppable violence of his opponent. He hit him with the bell – Jack got back up. He nailed him with a chair – same result. Hell, he put Mick through a damn table and was still on the receiving end of more punishment moments later. Being able to do that to HHH made Foley look like a million bucks. And in turn, when Hunter was able to take Jack’s best shots – then ruthlessly found a way to take the fight to him, be it with wrestling psychology like working the knee, a barbed wire bat or even tacks at the end – it made him look like a freaking rock star. The way they worked little homages to Mick’s infamous I Quit Match with The Rock a year earlier, the way The Rock involved himself in the contest to further his own feud with HHH and show his affection for the man who once begrudgingly teamed with in The Rock’n’Sock Connection, the jaw-dropping finish with HHH falling to his knees in disbelief at Jack kicking out of the Pedigree. Honestly this may be a career-best match for both men, which considering some of the legendary matches they’ve both had is really saying something. We’re over 13 years removed from this and I promise you it’s still absolutely worth going out of your way to see.
He may have won the battle, but HHH has to be stretchered out…only to be retrieved and laid out with one last barbed wire shot by a bitterly disappointed Cactus Jack.
The ringside area needs some significant repair work after that fight, so we go back to WWF New York where The Coach is with Linda McMahon. She says nothing of interest…
Royal Rumble Match
You all know the drill with this one. Thirty men enter at 90-second intervals, one emerges as #1 contender and heads to Wrestlemania for a WWF Title shot. The two stand-out candidates this year are The Rock and former champion the Big Show – both of whom want a chance to become champion again in California in just a couple of months time.
D-Lo Brown and Grand Masta Sexay are the unlucky guys who get to start the party. Grand Masta is still dancing when D-Lo decides to sock him right in the mouth, but honestly the crowd is in total silence as they recover from the HHH/Cactus match. #3 is Headbanger Mosh, but his thunder is stolen by Kaientai, who demonstrate their displeasure at not getting a spot in the Rumble by running in…but get sent packing just as quickly. #4 is Christian…and nothing much happens in the ensuing time before #5 joins us – and it’s Rikishi. He picks things up by quickly eliminating Mosh, Christian and D-Lo. Just when he looks set to turn his attention on his friend Grand Masta Sexay it’s time for #6 – Scotty 2 Hotty. They have the whole damn arena up and clapping as they bust out their dance, which ends when Rikishi eliminates both of Too Cool at once! Steve Blackman is #7 but he too is quickly dispatched taking Rikishi’s elimination count to 6! Viscera enters at #8 for a battle of the fatties. How did he wrestle in that ridiculous plastic coat by the way? Rikishi eliminates him too, just as Big Bossman comes out at #9. He shows his veteran instincts by taking as long as possible before getting into the ring with the dominant Rikishi. He stands on the floor and waits out the 90 seconds until Test becomes entrant #10 and physically drags him into the ring. Holy sh*t how over was Test?
Amazingly British Bulldog is #11 making it three consecutive entrants who are sadly no longer with us. Thankfully Gangrel is at #12 to break that sequence. Kaientai run in again…and this time Taka Michinoku is thrown out with such force he actually fractures his cheekbone upon landing. Edge is lucky #13, as Rikishi flattens the Bossman with a Bansai Drop. Bob Backlund is #14…and he joins the rest of the guys (six of them) in lifting Rikishi over the ropes to finally eliminate him. We reach the halfway stage with Chris Jericho becoming #15. He immediately eliminates Backlund, who oddly disappears into the crowd rather than leaving in a conventional manner. The Rock’s other top pick Crash Holly is in at #16 to re-up the dead wrestler count (I take no pleasure in saying that I should point out). Not a lot happens until Chyna comes out to enter at #17. It’s her second Rumble and she makes a beeline for Y2J…then suplexes him to the floor! He’s gone – and Chyna soon joins him after being shunted off the apron by the Bossman. Faarooq is #18, looking every bit as annoyed as Chyna. The Mean Street Posse do a Kaientai and rush the ring to assault him…meaning Faarooq’s stay in the Rumble is even shorter than his Tag Title Match. We’re approaching the 30-minute mark now, and fans are starting to chant ‘Rocky’ and get a little impatient as they wait for his arrival. Sadly for them #19 is Road Dogg! And #20 is Al Snow. British Bulldog was innocuously eliminated by the Road Dogg somewhere in there. #21 is Val Venis, but he is almost overtaken by Funaki (who is now running in solo since Taka got injured last time).
People are increasingly starting to gravitate towards beating up Test and the Bossman as those two have been involved for the longest. Prince Albert enters at #22, quickly sending Edge packing. Hardcore Holly becomes #23. The ring is becoming very full now, with weary bodies laying everywhere. Road Dogg spends most of his time on the deck clutching the bottom rope trying to remain anonymous. Finally the crowd get their wish, and the pop is absolutely deafening as The Rock enters at #24. He punches Big Bossman over the ropes in seconds to end his lengthy stint in the match. Billy Gunn follows him at #25 meaning both the Tag Champions are in at once. In the midst of his entrance Rock eliminates Crash Holly – which makes sense since he admitted earlier to fearing him. #26 is Big Show, which is a very late number for one of the favourites. He sets about thinning the pack right away – with Test and Gangrel eliminated in his wake. Bradshaw is in at #27, and once again the Mean Street Posse are out to attack another Acolyte. He MURDERS them…only for the New Age Outlaws to sneak up behind Bradshaw to eliminate him. What an awful night for the Acolytes! Kane is at #28 with Tori (remember her) at his side. Venis bumps like a trooper for him as he is eliminated with an awesome choke-throw over the top rope. #29 is the Godfather…as Kane clobbers Albert over the ropes. Funaki rushes the ring one last time…and is thrown into the laps of the Godfather’s Ho Train as they surround the ring. Godfather’s entrance actually takes so long that he’s barely in the ring before X-Pac rounds out the field at #30.
All of D-X are in one corner assaulting The Rock, as Show eliminates Hardcore Holly and the Godfather in rapid fire fashion. Rock eliminates Al Snow…as Mr Ass turns coat and eliminates his own partner! Kane punches him over too which leaves a final four of Kane (who is dragged under the ropes and attacked by the Outlaws), X-Pac, The Rock and Big Show. Four becomes three as Rock spectacularly launches Pac out of the match. Just as quickly it becomes four again because X-Pac sneaks back in unnoticed whilst all the refs were trying to separate Kane, Gunn and Road Dogg. He eliminates Kane for good measure, before dishing out a Bronco Buster to Big Show. PRESS SLAM TO THE FLOOR! This time Waltman is gone…leaving us inevitably with Rock and Big Show. PEOPLE’S ELBOW! CHOKESLAM! Show looks to have it won as he scoops a lifeless Rock over his shoulders and chooses which side of the ring to eliminate him. Finally he charges, BUT ROCK TIPS HIM OVER! The Rock wins and seals his Mania date at 51:52
Rating - *** - I’ve always felt this was a bit of an under-appreciated Rumble. I’ll admit it’s not particularly memorable, but for the most part it was pretty entertaining. Although this was a hot streak for wrestling in general, without the likes of Steve Austin, Undertaker, Foley, HHH and more to go in this match the roster was actually pretty thin on the ground in terms of credible top line talent. Realistically, everybody knew it was only ever going to be Rock or Big Show who won – and I thought they made a decent fist of stretching a very limited story over the best part of an hour. The Rikishi stuff at the start was a lot of fun, and they kept things interesting with the Kaientai run ins, some amusing pay-offs from earlier in the show (Chyna eliminating Jericho, the Outlaws taking out Bradshaw etc), and did a good job of amping up the excitement before The Rock finally arrived. In truth this did become boring in places, and far too many interesting guys were eliminated quickly whilst people like Al Snow, Gangrel and Crash Holly were allowed to hang in for far too long without doing anything remotely worth watching. It’s easy to criticise this Rumble, and even easier to forget about it completely – but I do think there were mitigating circumstances and given those this really wasn’t bad.
The Rock is the victor, but he doesn’t have long to savour his victory as Big Show climbs back into the ring to attack him. They stare down as the show ends.
Tape Rating - *** - This show is a bit of a mixed bag, but undeniably a total blast to watch. At it’s heart, the HHH/Foley Street Fight is legendary and deserves to be seen so it’s an easy recommend for that alone. Sure the Rumble wasn’t too hot, and some of the undercard was poor – but there was still plenty of value for money with this card. If you’re a WWE fan who’s only seen the product in the ‘John Cena’ era of the last four years or so, it’s hard to put into words how different this is to the WWE product of today. It’s like watching a different promotion. You had topless old ladies, girls in bikinis, steel chairs and potty-mouthed promos before most matches. This is very much a show of it’s time. With ECW having become a cultural phenomenon in it’s own right and WCW still very much seen as ‘the enemy’ despite increasingly resembling a sinking ship it’s absolutely a glowing endorsement for why the current national pro-wrestling scene would benefit from WWE having some serious (i.e. not TNA) competition. There wasn’t a drop of complacency here. Even in a completely forgettable Royal Rumble match, it’s clear than the creative team were trying to eek every last drop out of the limited resources they had at their disposal. As I said at the top of my review – this is a hugely significant show in my own wrestling fandom, but looking at it with a degree of impartiality, despite it’s patchy card I really think this show is worth tracking down if you can find it.
Top 3 Matches
3) Royal Rumble (***)
2) Hardy Boyz vs Dudley Boyz (****)
1) Triple H vs Cactus Jack (*****)